Kim Dotcom will launch a political party, dubbed "Megaparty," to compete in the general elections in New Zealand.
Although Dotcom, a 39-year-old German citizen, won't run for office, he claims his party will get more than 5% of the vote and target young voters who care about the Internet. Dotcom hasn't revealed too much about the politics of his future party, but one thing is for sure — it will be controversial.
Get ready for low blows and smear against me and my political party. My attackers are worried. They should be. We will get more than 5%.
— Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) January 11, 2014
See also: Kim Dotcom's Mega to Launch Encrypted Email Service
The political party is the latest extravaganza for the founder of now-defunct file-sharing website Megaupload. He's still fighting extradition to the United States on copyright infringement charges. Since his arrest in 2011, Dotcom has been outspoken about hot-button political issues.
"Where the government is supposed to serve us the people, we are paying with our taxes that they do a good job for us. But look what they do, they undermine our rights, they destroy our freedoms, they censor our Internet, so we are the ones who have to bring that change," he told Vice in a new documentary.
And some are taking him seriously. Bryce Edwards, a political scientist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said his party could influence who wins the election.
"His promised new party is far from certain to get into Parliament, but depending on how well it tickles the fancies of some of the more radical, marginalized, and disillusioned voters and non-voters, the so-called Mega Party could have a huge impact on who forms the next government," Edwards told the Sunday Star-Times.
Never one to miss an opportunity to remind the world of his legal battles, Dotcom will launch the party website and mobile app on Jan. 20, the day he was arrested two years ago with an elaborate armed raid on his Auckland mansion. Last year, on the first anniversary, he debuted his cloud-hosting service Mega.
Dotcom will also throw a birthday party at the Vector Arena in Auckland, a sports venue that hosts up to 12,000 people. The party will be free of charge.
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